Louisville (CA 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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Upon arrival, the crew learned that Charles Nordhofif, famous co-author of the team, Nordhoff and Hall, resided in the city. A run was made on the library for copies of HlVlutiny on the Bountyw and other books written by this author. These were autographed by Nordhoff, but somehow or other were never checked back into the library. 0613103 L . A if i'.?x? li , fgflv ,J ,Wil ' TQ A -Q. Al?Ea..2i.?'0? t ' . L i ,t 1 ,r e Q: , .. ,, r V . M , i ,,. X , ,... -, ,LN -' -9 ' ' new , , H , ,S wffMn.cfa--f-..i-,:- A multitude of friends crowd the Sydney wharf to wave farewell to the departing Louisville crew. - W. J kim , ,. ,in my k ke ,ia ILKN i'r,,,., ' ,L-'Ls-is-asf, if M Y N-A, . . 1' X ff ,A X ' ' The Rodney before she capsized taking many lives of friends Louisville crew aiding survivors of the Rodney disaster, who had chartered her to accompany us out of the channel. many of whom suffered from strangulation and shock. Sailors and Marines carry casualty below to sick bay. The Louisville laying off Bradley,s Head following the accident Tahiti Harbor. port of the island Agile Tahitians climb after Tahiti was so pleasant two fellows paradise of story book fame. the precious cocoanut milk. went Mover the hill -literally! 25

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Stopping at Pearl Harbor, we had a glimpse of Diamond Head. Then pressing southward to Somoa and Pago Pago Harbor we found tatooed legs and outrigger canoes popular. boats were lowered for the rescue. Some bluejackets near life preserver racks threw the life rings into the water so rapidly that the Australian commentator of a newsreel talking of the tragedy referred to the f'LoLli.soille Life Preserver Machine. Approximately 25 women were brought aboard ship for treatment, one of whom died. Small craft rescued others, but nine- teen drowned in one of Sydneyps greatest harbor tragedies. The Louisville departure was delayed because of the disaster until the following day when she got underway for Melbourne. . The reception in that city was much the same as in Sydney. The men visited parks and zoos, bought hundreds of koola bear dolls, enjoyed the company of Australian girls, and finally, passed on to the third city, Adelaide. A ship's dance, held in the Adelaide warehouse, still lingers in the minds of I Louisville men as one of the bright mem- ories. The city is also famous with us for visitors aboard ship. No unusual number Arriving in Sydney, an Australian Major General boarded to pay respects to our Captain. We found recreation facilities abundant, with Bon-di Beach and Koala Park favorites of them visited the ship, but they were so interested they stayed late. ln fact, on one occasion the crew's chow was post- poned and repostponed until 1900, and we were waiting for our guests to leave so we could eat. There wasnpt enough chow to feed the multitude otherwise we might have extended them the same hos- pitality they had afforded us. Leaving Australia, the ship proceeded to Hobart, Tasmania, and then to Aukland, New Zealand, spending a week in each place. After that the well pleased and fun-weary crew turned the Lou, north for the trip home. We had one interesting stop on the way, however, the city of Papeete, Tahiti. Q I N ..i1? Xxl ' '-H, .. L I I ll I 1 i is 5. in ,y l. 4 1 1 N .. I , N L I , , J rr,- ' 1 I A I l 4 i 2 . E 3

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Papeeteps other boast was cheap cham- pagne, a drink the bluejackets didn't com- pletely understand. They 'gsippedn their drinks in gulps and stood to sip some more. One sailor having just returned from liberty a little on the happy side, plunged overboard and swam for shore. A motor boat, lying nearby, was rushed to the rescue. However, as the boat pulled alongside the swimmer, the bluejacket re- fused rescue and continued thrashing the water toward shore. The rescuers finally pulled him aboard with a boat hook and got him back to the ship. The island city had additional bad effects on our crew, for it is said to have been responsible for a two-hour sailing delay. Two of the ship's crew, who swore they preferred the South Sea Island to returning home, attempted to go Hover the hill. In this case it was actually a hill. The shore patrol dragged them down from a mountain side to give the Lady a full sailing complement. SOUTH AMERICAN CRUISE Late in August of 1940 activity on the Louisville increased impressively. Four months of major overhaul were drawing to a close, rapidly approaching were opera- tional days ahead with the Pacific Fleet. The long overhaul had been a pleasant one for the shipis company, for unlike later high-geared production achieved in the wartime navy yards, work went on during this period at a normal rate. But even so the infinite number of welderps leads, the accumulation of junk and 'gen- eral messiness of repair cluttered the ship's decks. We eagerly anticipated the operations ahead. Clearing the Puget Sound Navy Yard in early September our course was set for familiar grounds-Long Beach, California. This had been our base and home, and it was good to get back just before heading west to the uislandsf' Suddenly new whisperings were to be heard around the ship. Hot scuttlebutt, straight dope, too. Was it true? Yes, in short order it became quite apparent that we were not to join the Fleet as expected. Last-minute prepara- tions were made for a cruise of another type. A pleasure cruise, it was called, but more powerful words were needed to fully describe the glorious times in store for us. A South American cruise, the dope had it, and that time it was straight. Preparations were soon completed for a trip that sounded like a dream. lt was the type of thing one heard about, not actually took part in, yet there it was. VV e pinched ourselves to make sure. Underway with no way on, not a usual status for the Louisville, but it wasn't a normal situation. We were easing up to the entrance to the West Lock of Mira- flores, Panama Canal. As our first lines went over to the donkeys, all hands observed closely the procedure followed in passing through the locks. Across Miraflores Lake, through Pedro Miguel Locks we 'entered the famous Culebra CCaillardD Cut. Moving unevent-